When Fear Rules - Martin Wiles

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

All around, I witnessed evidence of fear.

“I can’t find eggs for under four dollars a dozen, and I’m not gonna pay that,” one of my church members said as we talked on the phone. “Nor can I find any toilet paper.”

The COVID-19 pandemic made people act in weird—even illogical—ways. Hoarding toilet paper was one of them. After a while, this practice became a joke and the topic of many memes on Facebook and Instagram. I laughed as I looked at them--but not when I, like my friend, went to store after store and couldn’t find any toilet paper. Or when I had to get to the store as soon as they opened to purchase only one pack after stores put a limit on how many packs a customer could buy.

“Eggs are just over a dollar a dozen at Food Lion,” I told my friend, “and they do have toilet paper early in the morning.” He told me he wasn’t an early riser, so I knew why he couldn’t find any.

“Do you want us to bring you some Sunday morning when we come to church?” Even though we were only live-streaming, we went to church to record the sermon. 

He said, “Yes,” and I could hear the relief in his voice. He was running low on toilet paper. Early the following day, my wife and I headed to the grocery store and made his purchases and some of our own.

Not long after our conversation with this church member, another texted my wife, “Could you see if you can find me some bread-making flour and packs of yeast? The shelves here are empty.” She lived in the same small town as our other friend.

My wife said she would, and we added those items to the list. But when we went to the grocery store early that morning, we had no luck with her items. She wasn’t the only one who had turned to making homemade bread since the shelves were often emptied of manufactured bread.

I had never experienced what the pandemic did to people. Fear and anxiety ruled, and worry followed in their footsteps. Stores couldn’t keep toilet paper on the shelves, even though diarrhea was not a symptom of the virus. Other paper products disappeared as well, as did hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, and Clorox. Even though they should have already had things hoarded, hoarders emerged from the woodwork and added to their stash. Meat disappeared from meat counters.

Getting what we needed required early trips to the grocery store, multiple trips to the grocery store, or multiple trips to many different stores. By the time stores finally caught on and limited purchases of certain items, it was too late. The hoarders had hoarded.

Listening to the news didn’t help. The President and his COVID Task Force came on the air almost daily, reminding me of President Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats during the Great Depression. And once a week, the governor of our state gave local updates and changes.

Initially, I let the hoarders do the fearing and worrying, but the more I listened to the news, the more I felt fear creeping into my life. Scenes of people fighting over toilet paper didn’t help--nor did seeing hundreds of people waiting at food pantries, hearing about the rising number of unemployed, or watching the military build field hospitals. Things that reminded me of war times. And we were in a war, just not with an observable enemy.

To top things off, the South witnessed a string of deadly tornadoes roar through—tornadoes that stayed on the ground for miles at a time, destroying homes and businesses and taking lives. Talking to my cousin, who’s a first responder, didn’t help. She told me about a little girl impaled on a tree.

When fear rules, anxiety and worry aren’t far behind. But Paul tells us God hasn’t given those things. Instead, He sends a sound mind.

Fear comes in two varieties: the “I’m afraid of” type and the “respect” type. The first is healthy if it relates to dangerous situations I’m trying to avoid or remove myself from. But if the things I fear are imaginary—things that might happen but haven’t—and those things control me, leading me to live in a constant state of fear, I then live in an unhealthy state of mind. The respect type of fear is good, especially concerning God. He has life and death power over me. I respect and love him because he’s my God and has provided for my forgiveness.

When the correct type of fear rules our lives, we won’t worry, fear, or be anxious. God controls all our tomorrows. He knows what we need, and just as he cares for His creation and creatures, he’ll care for us. When we trust him with all situations and circumstances, He’ll remove our anxieties and give us a peace we can’t explain. On top of it all, he’ll provide us with a sound mind that cannot co-exist with fear.

Letting the wrong kind of fear rule our lives leads to hoarding, manipulating, killing, and selfish acts. The right type of fear, however, leads us to selfless living where we trust God and love our neighbors.

Don’t let the wrong kind of fear rule your life.

Father, I give my fears to you and ask that you send me your peace. 

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When Panic Sets In - Martin Wiles

The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm. Exodus 14:14 NLT

Dead ends faced me in every direction I turned.

Every fall, when apple-picking time arrived, my wife and I, along with our daughter and her two boys, made our way to Hendersonville, North Carolina. We enjoy the scenery, love the apples, and enjoy watching the grandboys play on the various attractions.

One activity we always enjoy entails walking through the corn maze. Walking through a cornfield where the corn reaches higher than my six-foot frame brings back fond memories—memories of doing the same as a boy as my cousin, and I ran through our grandfather’s corn fields.

The corn maze also reminds me of an attraction at the local fair where I grew up in Orangeburg, South Carolina: the Glass House. As I recall, I only mustered the nerve to do it one time. Everywhere I turned, I hit a glass wall. I finally made my way out, but not before panic set in.

While I enjoy the corn maze, I always feel a sense of anxiety when walking through it. Paths lead in all directions. I have no way of knowing which one will lead me to the end of the maze. Fortunately, I have my wife ahead of me, and she has a better sense of direction. But even with her excellent nose, we hit several dead ends. A sign greeted us, telling us we had come the wrong way.

Since the corn stalks stretch tall like a church steeple, seeing over them to find a landmark that would direct us back to the apple barn was impossible. Finally, we made our way out. Although I was a little anxious, I did not panic. In this case, I knew I could walk out of the field if I wanted to and see where I was.

Not so easily solved with COVID-19, which hit in full force during 2019-2020. People in China contracted it initially, and many died. Suddenly, the virus left China and marched across the world. The number of infected grew—and thousands died. With no cure available, panic grew. Toilet paper disappeared from shelves like a chicken thief with his goods—even though diarrhea was not a symptom of the virus. Hand sanitizer followed. My wife and I walked through retail and grocery stores and saw empty shelves. People hoarded food items as well. Doomsday thinking reigned.

Panic had a domino effect. Sporting events were axed. Churches canceled services. The President of the United States declared a national state of emergency. Governors closed schools. Even the private school where I teach closed. Everywhere, panic and anxiety rose and multiplied. People were encouraged to social distance themselves from places where fifty or more people would be gathered—then ten. Restaurants closed their dining areas and only opened the carry-out or drive-thrus.

Panic also gripped God’s people. They had just left four hundred years of slavery in Egypt. As they made their way toward the Red Sea, the king of Egypt—who had changed his mind about letting them go—hounded them. When the children of Israel looked around, they saw Pharaoh and his armies behind them and the Red Sea in front of them. Moses, their leader, told them to stay calm. The Lord would fight for them. Moses’ message was the same I heard from official after official during the Coronavirus: stay calm.  

When panic over dire circumstances sets in, we should remember a big but comforting word: sovereignty. The Bible attributes this trait to God. He is in control. He has not stepped away from his throne, where he rules the world.

God will also watch over His children. This does not mean we won’t succumb to the sickness, but God will give us wisdom to do what we need. And if a disease or natural disaster should snatch our lives away, God has an eternal home awaiting us. Knowing this, however, should not prevent us from taking every precaution we can. God gives us a mind to use and His Spirit to guide us along proper courses of action.

Trust is the key. God tells us not to be anxious or worry. He will supply our needs. Whatever we’re anxious about, we can present to him in prayer, and he will give us a peace that exceeds our understanding.

Panic sends a bad message that we think things are out of control, but they aren’t. God controls the timing and the duration of the situation and uses it for his good purposes—as well as ours.

When circumstances appear out of control and you are tempted to panic, remember who controls the situation.

Father, I look to you to lead me away from panic and fear and to trust instead. 

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